Diversity

1: Understand diversity, equality and inclusion within own area of responsibility. * 1:1 Equality and diversity should be at the core of every organisation as it enables us to deliver a better service and improve our work practises and promote positive values. It is important to respect individuality and diversity not only in the workplace but also in our daily lives. Equality is about creating a fair-minded society where everyone has the chances to fulfil their potential. Whereas diversity is about identifying, recognising and valuing the difference in its wide-ranging sense. (DoH 2004) We live and work in a multi-cultural society and we must all take responsibility for our actions, as “care workers” we work with very vulnerable clients and this puts us in a position of power and we sometimes have to make decisions which has the potential to be used or abused. It is vital that we as workers understand our job role and its legal implications; we must also be aware of our own policies and procedures and keep ourselves updated. What we do as workers have a direct impact on our service users therefore we must conduct ourselves in a non-judgemental approach and support non-discriminatory practises. Part of my role is to continually raise staff awareness around such issues as equality, diversity and inclusion, no one individual is responsible and every staff member has a duty to ensure policies and procedures and legislation is followed and implemented by doing so we can create: * A better working and living environment * A more aware/ informed staff * Achieve strategic aims and goals (organisationally/locally) * Improving the prominence of the organisation/project * Attract and retain quality staff. It is important to remember that, as a manager I can be held responsible for any discriminatory practises that occur within the workplace. Applying the principles of equality/diversity requires all staff to ensure that systems are in place and followed rigidly. One of the most popular models for promoting equality is the equal opportunities approach this is loosely based around the principle of everyone starting as the same. This would mean we are all equal with the same opportunities and anywhere possible barriers removed. This would mean no one should be discriminated against on the grounds if race, age, gender, disability or sexual orientation .Legislation to back this has included: * Sex discrimination Act 1975 * Equal Pay Act 1970 * Disability Discrimination Act 1995 * Equality act 2006 Walker (1994 Valuing Differences: the concept and a model p: 212) identified that the difference and diversity model is based on four key principals * People function best when they feel valued * People feel more valued when they believe their individual group differences have been taken into account. * The ability to learn from those who are different is the key to empowerment. * When people are empowered and valued they can work independently and together to build relationships and build capacity. It is important to understand the importance of diversity, equality and inclusion and being committed to the principles of treating everyone fairly with dignity and respect. 1;2 As with all organisational cultures there will be barriers to equality and inclusion the mere fact that we work in such multi-cultural/diverse settings will throw up it’s own barriers. It is important as a manager to recognise the cultural needs/identities of the staff team and service users and respond accordingly, so it is important that all involved know and understand the ethos and values of the organisation/project and how these will impact on their working role. Most of our values/predjudices,beliefs are deeply ingrained early on from our upbringing , it is when these are challenged that we begin to question ourselves and our own prejudices, views and behaviours. At this point we can begin to and to look at changing our views and opinions. We have to continually challenge the barriers to equality, diversity and inclusion and work at building cultures where open discussion and tolerance are the norm. 1:3 the law has recognised the need for legislation in the areas of equality and diversity and have numerous acts in place such as: * Human Rights Act (1995) * Sex Discrimination Act (1975) * Equality Act (2006) * Race Relations Act (2006) * Disability Discrimination Act (2005) The Equality Act is one of the most significant pieces of equality legislation to date though above are amongst the main acts that are applicable, to our work practise, though clauses within other acts also focus on anti-discriminatory issues. As an organisation it is our responsibility to uphold these acts/clauses and we achieve this through informative inductions, continuing training and reviewed and up-dated policies and procedures. As a manager I look out for any anti discriminatory behaviour within the workplace, challenge it then take any necessary appropriate action if needed. I feel it is my duty to motivate my staff team to recognise the impact equality and diversity has on our work. 2: Be able to champion Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. 2:1 all organisations have to take accountability for equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the responsibility can have an influential effect on how we work with our service users, therefore it is important to remove any barriers or boundaries that are identified and then continually monitor, thus we can create a sense of inclusion, diversity and equality. At High St one of our key values, underpinning our work, is to include the service users and staff, treating all with fairness and offering equal respect and valuing all the different contributions they make. It is in my role to make sure all staff keep up to date and more importantly read the policies and procedures, as knowledge is power, we must be conscious of how we use this power and in what context, when we are in a position of power we can influence many people. The ability to identify and work constructively with this power is a necessary skill for a manager to be passed to staff team. At High St we have an open policy at our staff meetings and encourage all staff to air any issues around equality and diversity in a safe environment. 2:2 The word discrimination comes from the Latin "discriminare", which means to "distinguish between". If we challenge discrimination effectively we can prevent future mistreatments, as well as empowering some of the service users we work with to realise their rights. The Citizens Advice have published some interesting information on the costs of discrimination: * Age discrimination alone costs the UK economy £31 billion a year. Add in the costs of all other forms of discrimination, and that’s a significant drain on the economy. * Alienation, economic inequality, and prejudice can lead to communities living parallel lives, where the lack of a shared sense of belonging creates the conditions for fear, hate and extremism on all sides. * CAB clients who’ve experienced discrimination tell us how devastating it is. And often a discrimination problem can lead to a complex web of problems including debt, homelessness, and relationship and family breakdown, Discrimination can take on many forms such as stereotyping: dehumanisation: marginalisation though more common forms include gender, race sexism, ageism, disability. Negative discrimination occurs when treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favour of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit: racial and religious intolerance and discrimination. With this information we can see the importance of challenging any form of discrimination and inequality and as an organisation the importance of implementing and monitoring our anti-discriminatory/equality policies and it is my job to see staff work within these. 2.3/4 Discrimination has had many damaging effects on staff and service users and exists when individuals are treated unfairly because of their particular race, gender, age, ethnic group, physical disability, or religious beliefs. Studies show that particular people or groups who suffer prejudice and discrimination have less life chances than those who don't. It is within my role and the company’s to continually supply and source new information for staff and clients, and by doing this around the issues of discrimination we can highlight any oppression within the work environment ,this in turn can improve communication, bring to light different skills, experiences and perspectives and new solutions. In work situations a lot of discrimination is dressed up in humour and can be covert as a good manager I have to be aware of signs and act accordingly. If we do not challenge discrimination and turn our back on it we are aiding the perpetrator to continue and create a culture of acceptance and this is unfair. What does inclusion mean' The term inclusion is seen as a universal human right and aims at embracing all people irrespective of race, gender, disability, medical or other need. It is about giving equal access and opportunities and getting rid of discrimination and intolerance. It is important to make people “part” at high St we have several information boards supplying all kinds of information from how to make a complaint to day trips, we also hold regular residents meetings where we will share information and all residents have an updated personal file in their rooms. I also try to work in a holistic way looking at the person as a whole and no a diagnosis. As in Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs we see after physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the third layer of human needs are interpersonal and involve feelings of belongingness which could be another word for inclusion. Nietzche once said that the 'surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in a higher esteem those who think alike, than those who think differently' today we know that this is not the case diversity in the workplace is the norm The benefits of diversity in the workplace are plentiful, his is due to the fact that each and every person brings with them a different set of beliefs and experiences, that, in time, prove to be useful for the workplace as a whole. I have recently introduced Belbin, s (2010) model for team building at our team meetings and have begun to explore how we value each member’s contribution to the service we deliver. As the service user base extends we have to be aware and understand and reflect on the needs of those potential new service users. A lot of people (staff/clients) find it difficult to challenge or whistleblow and as the people in “power” we as managers have a duty to support any arising issues in accordance with policies and procedures whilst maintaining the level of confidentiality required protecting those who raise the issues. Being in an environment where the clients are a diverse group of elderly long term mental health sufferers we have to be aware and identify if there are any instances of discrimination/exclusion ( some of these actions are deep rooted) to challenge and support where necessary. It is everybody’s responsibility to promote and champion inclusion and the challenges of inclusion/diversity must be faced, and faced head-on. As a working environment we have a duty to supply as much information (via notice boards, meeting and face to face contact) and reassurance that we can deal with any discrimination/exclusion in the correct and procedural manner. Discriminatory behaviour is a potential barrier to a person’s realisation to reach their potential, and is never acceptable it is sometimes invisible that is why we must always be aware of both ourselves and others. 3: understand how we develop systems and processes that promote diversity, equality and inclusion. 3:1 in order to look at how we promote equality/diversity and inclusion we must first look at our organisational policies and legal requirements if we have clear directives from above there can be no mis-interpretation, then it is our responsibility as managers and staff to work to the principles and conduct ourselves as expected. At community potions policies are reviewed constantly in order to keep up with new legislation/ideas and work practises. All employees have the responsibility to be familiar with the policies and procedures at community options there is the initial week long induction and four workshops per year with a small assessment (70% pass) to keep employees abreast of changes. It is a way of keeping the communication channels open as there is no point having excellent policies if staff are not aware or compliant with them. If there is a change/update in policies all staff is alerted by e-mail. We also have within the organisation a Recovery Champion this is generally a service user who’s job it is to promote the issues and keep them on the agenda this role is open to all service users. On the other side of the fence we must have in place policies that deal with discriminatory issues these generally come under disciplinary heading and must ensure the appropriate procedures and sanctions are in place. Employees and residents must be supported throughout the whole process, if we as workers challenge discrimination in a supportive and safe environment we will go a long way to resolving issues in-house and without further investigation we must promote an environment where anyone feels safe and protected to make a disclosure or whistle-blow and our policies must reflect that. At High St we encourage any resident or staff to speak out no matter what the issue if at this level the staff feel the cannot make the disclosure they can speak with anyone up to the CEO. 3:2/3 In order to look at the effectiveness of the policies and procedures we have in place we have to find ways to ensure that they are working, we can do this in various ways, we can use surveys both for staff and for our service users, periodic questionnaires, we can benchmark ourselves against similar setups, the use of KLORA and CUTA and codes of practise by using staff supervision to discuss staff interactions and behaviours, working in a reflective mode means we can learn from the past to improve the future. At High St we have had staff and residents that have sat on policy and procedure committees. If your organisations policies and procedures are updated and reviewed regularly there should be no gaps or shortfalls in the system and if there is they should be addressed immediately and this could be done through re-training/ new training, we must have constant evaluating and monitoring in place and perhaps a regular spot in team meetings to discuss issues around equality, diversity and inclusion. 4: Be able to manage the risks presented when balancing individual rights and professional duty of care. 4:1 On a daily basis we as “care workers” make decisions and choices for or on the behalf of the clients we work with, we do this as we think it is in the” best interests” of our clients, the classic example being that smoking is bad for your health so if you believe that by not giving the client cigarettes it will improve their health. By doing this we are taking away their choice and the right to make their own decisions about their health and life. One of the biggest dilemmas we face on a daily basis is how we balance risk and choice and how we get that balance right moving away from the risk while still being aware if the safeguarding issues. We have a duty of care to support our service users whilst keeping them safe we have to be aware of our own prejudices and provide the most informative information we have in an understandable way ,we are not here to control others but to support them to take risks and make informed decisions. 4:2 Informed choice means that a person has the information and support to think the choice through and to understand what the reasonably expected consequences may be making that choice. In making an informed choice there should be choice of options given and making a significant decision should mean that you understand what those choices could imply and the impact they could have. Cuthbert and Quallington (2008) stated there are at least four elements necessary for autonomous decision-making: 1. Understanding the value of respect for person and their differences 2. The ability to be self-governing and being able to determine one’s own personal goals, desires and preferences. 3. The capacity or competence to make choices or decisions based on deliberation and reason 4. The freedom to make choices for oneself and then to act on these Implementing informed choice requires 1. Communicating clearly 2. Gathering and understanding information 3. Setting goals 4. Making decisions 5. Following through decisions. At High St we have residents diary where they can book both time and a staff member to accompany them on an appointment/outing or shopping this is a small way in which we hope promotes informed choice. 4:3 We all have differing levels of capacity and the clients we work with have a variety of specific issues which can apply when working with this group. It is important to take all possible steps to try to help people make a decision for themselves. In relation to risk as with any other decision making, if the client has capacity and has been supported to consider the possible risks both positive and negative, arising from the proposed course of action and have decided to take the risk, then that is their informed choice. When a client’s capacity puts them at risk of neglect or abuse by a person or persons this should be discussed with them and if they lack capacity and their decisions put them at risk then a referral should be made for action under the Safeguarding Adults Procedures or an assessment under the Metal Capacity Act. It is every adult’s right to make their own decisions if they have the capacity, we must remember the client group we work with and a person’s capacity must not be judged simply on the basis of their age, appearance, condition or aspect of their behaviour. The Mental Capacity Act(2005) states:“ be enabling and supportive of people who lack the capacity, not restricting or controlling of their lives. It aims to protect the people who lack capacity to make particular decisions, but also to maximise their ability to make decisions, or to participate in decision making as far as they are able to do so” for various reasons we as workers may be involved in the setting up of a mental capacity assessment the person who assesses the clients capacity to make decisions will be the person who is directly involved with the client at the time the decision had to be made. At my project we have gone through the mental capacity act in order to have appointees nominated for clients financial reasons. It is good to note that that in many instances a person’s capacity or lack of capacity can change and we have to be aware of this. 4:4 we have a duty of care to our service users and this includes protecting them from harm and this is primarily done through our risk assessments these should be done on an individual basis and reflect the level of risk that is involved they should be monitored and evaluated when necessary. Through risk assessments/care planning we can look closely at the differences, choices and preferences of our clients and how we can provide for these. When doing a risk assessment and the various action plans it is important to look at what risks to eliminate and what risks to keep as life does include a degree of risk taking. At team meetings we focus on a specific resident look at their care plans and risk assessments in depth this serves two purposes firstly to discuss if we need any changes and secondly it serves as a reflection tool as to how we are working with the client. In order to minimise risk and have the correct strategies in place we as workers must be vigilant and identify potential risks and act accordingly.